Reform UK Wales is staging a partial boycott of the Senedd in protest at the suspension of one of its members for making claims about white people being "replaced" in the UK. The party's Welsh leader Helen Jenner, alongside member Joe Martin and chief whip Llŷr Powell, announced the action on the Senedd's steps on Wednesday afternoon. According to BBC News, Martin has been barred from speaking in the chamber until he apologises for remarks that the parliament's Presiding Officer Huw Irranca-Davies described as "unnecessarily provocative and deliberately offensive".
Reform's members withdrew from most of Wednesday's proceedings before returning to vote later in the evening. Jenner framed the boycott as a defence of democratic principles, stating that freedom of speech represents "a fundamental part of our democracy" and that it "means very little if it only applies to opinions we agree with". She warned against allowing "the Senedd to become a place where challenging views are shut down". Jenner also claimed that Martin's suspension resulted from "undue pressure" exerted by the governing party Plaid Cymru and constituted an "infringement on freedom of speech".
Martin's remarks came during business questions on Wednesday, a session in which Senedd members are entitled to raise issues of their choosing. He requested a Welsh government statement addressing what he characterised as the "demographic replacement of white British people". Business Minister Heledd Fychan immediately referred the matter to the presiding officer, questioning whether the contribution breached the Senedd's standing orders—the formal rules governing conduct within the chamber.
Standing orders grant the presiding officer discretionary authority to determine whether contributions to plenary sessions employ "discriminatory or offensive language". In his ruling, Irranca-Davies stated: "Until I receive a clear indication that the member understands the boundaries of acceptable parliamentary conduct and apologises to the Siambr [chamber], we will not be calling him to speak." Senedd officials clarified that any apology would need to be delivered in the chamber during a plenary session, though the ruling does not extend to committee work. Martin currently serves on the Senedd's Equality, Human Rights and Social Justice Committee.
This marks the second formal rebuke Martin has received from the presiding officer. In September 2026, Irranca-Davies had previously rebuked Martin for making offensive remarks about surgeons working in the Welsh NHS gender service, establishing a pattern of parliamentary conduct concerns. Plaid Cymru MS Marc Jones called on Martin to apologise "for the constant harm and fear he causes among our communities".
Martin's Caerdydd Penarth constituency encompasses some of Wales's most ethnically diverse communities. Census data from 2021 provides context for the demographic claims Martin raised: 93.8% of people in Wales identified as white, a decrease from 95.6% a decade earlier. The proportion identifying as Asian, Asian Welsh or Asian British—the next largest group in the survey—increased from 2.3% to 2.9% over the same period.
The boycott has drawn support from figures beyond Reform's ranks. Rupert Lowe, leader of the right-wing party Restore Britain, posted on X that the Welsh Parliament should be "shut down" if it was "going to shut down legitimate debate around demographic security and immigration".
Context of recent turbulence within Reform Wales
Martin's suspension occurs against a backdrop of significant instability within Reform UK's Welsh operations. The party experienced a turbulent period in September 2026 when its previous leader Dan Thomas resigned following his arrest on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour. Helen Jenner subsequently won the leadership race to replace him, taking the helm of the Welsh branch during a period marked by internal upheaval and external scrutiny.
Key facts
- Joe Martin was barred from speaking in the Senedd chamber until he apologises for remarks about demographic change that the presiding officer deemed "unnecessarily provocative and deliberately offensive"
- Reform UK staged a partial boycott of Wednesday's Senedd proceedings in protest, withdrawing from most business before returning to vote in the evening
- This is the second formal rebuke Martin has received from Presiding Officer Irranca-Davies; he was previously rebuked in September 2026 for offensive remarks about NHS gender service staff
- Census data shows Wales's white population declined from 95.6% in 2011 to 93.8% in 2021, while the Asian population rose from 2.3% to 2.9%
- The boycott reflects broader tensions within Reform UK Wales, which has faced leadership instability and internal challenges in recent months
